Letter: Ban Tanning Beds For Youth

This article is a column or editorial.The opinions expressed here are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of LOCAL2.

An NDP MPP introduced a private member's bill on April 26 to ban tanning salon use by youth under the age of 18. Alarmingly, 11% of students in grade 11 and 21% in grade 12 use indoor tanning salons.

In September, California became the first state to ban the use of tanning beds by teens up to age 18, even with their parentsí consent. Various municipalities and counties across the US have been banning minors over the past 2 years. More than 30 states have some restrictions on minors but none have gone as far as California yet.

The director of the Joint Canadian Tanning Association, slightly biased and disingenuous, equates tanning beds to sunlight and birth control pills

The World Health Organizationís Agency for Research on Cancer now rates tanning bedsí cancer risk at itís highest level, joining nicotine, asbestos and plutonium.

Most teens donít understand the implications down the road. Many girls feel skinnier and prettier from indoor tanning, with some girls being addicted to tanning - "tanorexia". This addiction lights up the same parts of the brain as drugs and alcohol.

Tanning beds have been around long enough that the incubation period for Malignant Melanoma, which is 5 to 25 years after exposure, is here, and we are starting to see a disproportionate amount in the 25 to 45 year old range for women Ė 3 to 1 compared to men. The only difference in these groups is that women or girls are 3 times more likely to use tanning beds.

Our MPP David Orazietti should have no hesitation in supporting this proposed bill - ban tanning beds for all youth under 18, even with parental consent.